Vegetation-destroyer.



No. 875,817. PATENTED JAN. 7, 1908. C. H. HOWARD.

VEGETATION DESTROYER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 18, 1907.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE.

CLARENCE H. HOWARD, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO `RAILROAD WEED BURNER COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

VE GETATION-DE STROYER.

Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 7, 1908.

Application Eea october 18.12507. Seriana. 398.019.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE H. How- ARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at St Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Vegetation-Destroyers, of which the followin@` is a specification.

Iy invention relates to that-class of vegetation-destroyer such as described in the United States Letters Patent ranted to William R..Mckeen Jr., and Art ur H..Fetters January 23, 1906, Number 810,793, for improvement in vegetation-destroyers, in which an arrangement of gasolene tanks and burners combined with a suitable motor and other appurtenances are mounted on a frame or vehicle provided with wheels and self-propelled along a railroad track, for burning the weeds along and on each side of the same, the burners' in the present case being suitably disposed within, and supported by a series of casings open at the bottom and extending beyond the end of the frame or vehicle over the track and ground at each side thereof.

My invention has for its object to provide improved means for firmly securing the burner casings to the end of the frame or vehicle and at the same time enable one of the casings which is directly connected thereto, and to which the other casings are hinged, to be adjusted nearer to or further from the track as desired; the said means being also applicable for securin asnow plow or flanger to the frame or vehic e in lieu of the burner casings-when the weed burning apparatus is not in use, andremoved from the car.

The invention consists in a Iconnecting device made preferably in two parts, one part being fixed to the frame or vehicle, and the other part to the object to be secured thereto, the said parts bein adapted to be fixed together and to inter ock at varying distances respectively, of the said object from the track, as hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, whereon,

Fi re 1, is a top lan view of a series of gaso ene burners (1n 'cated by dotted lines) with their casings or covers hinged to each other, and one of them secured to the end portion of a frame or vehicle of the class described by our improved connecting device; Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3, a vertical longitudinal section to enlarged scale through the frame and burner casing to be secured thereto, on line 3, 3, in Fig. 1, omitting the corresponding burners, and showing our connecting device in side elevation; Fig. 4, a vertical transverse section through the burner casing on line 4, 4, in Fig. 3, and Fig. 5, a top plan view thereof; Fig. 6, is a view corresponding to Fig. 1, showing the applicationof the device for securing a snow -Hanger or plow to the frame or vehicle in lieu of the burner casing, and Fig. 7, a vertical longitudinal section through the same on line 7, 7, in Fig. 6.

Like letters note like parts in all the figures.

a represents a casing or cover inclosing a series of gasolene burners b (indicated by dotted 4lines 1n Fig. 1), and c the end portion of a frame or vehicle to which the casing a is to be secured, and forming therewith parts of a vegetation-destroyer of the class described, the casing a being arran ed in a horizontal plane immediately over t e railroad track d at a suitable distance therefrom beyond the end of the frame or vehicle c, and having hinged thereto at each side, a similar burner casing a', adapted to overhang the ground on the corres onding side of the track d.

Prefera ly, to the end of the frame or vehicle c at the middle and on each side thereof respectively, is riveted or otherwise fixed preferably, an upright plate 1, from the outer face of which at right angles thereto project two opposite arms or webs -2 which are suitably spaced apart and form between them a jaw 3, adapted to receive a ton ue 4 which projects from the upper end ace 5 of a bracket e, the face 5 at the sides of the tongue 4 forming shoulders thereto which are adapted to bear against the outer upright ed es of the arms 2 when the parts are assemble the bracket e extending outward and downward therefrom and formed at its lower end with a horizontal baseplate 6, which is riveted (or otherwise fixed) to the to of the burner casing a as shown.y Or if esiredthe arms 2 forming the jaw 3 may be cast or otherwise formed integrally with the end sill of the frame or vehicle c and the plate 1 eliminated.

Transversely through the arms 2 of the jaw 3, and correspondinvly through the tongue 4 of the bracket e are ormed an upright series of bolt holes 7 at equal distances apart and and numerals of reference de l adapted to register with each other respectively, and` through, say three, as shown I' (more or less) of thev series of holes 7 are face 5 of thebracket e, or shoulders of the tongue 4 are formed projections 9 whichcorrespond to and are adapted to engage or interlock with the recesses 9 when the parts are assembled and fixed together bythe bolts 8 as described, whereby the bolts 8 are relieved from sheer stress and a positive iirm support insured to the burner casing a. By this construction, on removing the bolts 8,V the tongue 4 with the bracket e and burner casing a can be raised or loweredto the extent of the distance between two or more ofI the holes 7, or so that the holes 7 through the tongue 4 register, in the adjusted position, with the corresponding -holes of the arms 2 of the jaw 3, and the projections 9 of the bracket e with the corresponding recesses 9 of the arms 2, when the parts are again fixed together by the bolts 8 and interlocked as before, thereby enabling the burner casing a' with its auxiliary casings a to be moved nearer to or further from the track d as desired without removal of .the tongue 4 from .the jaw 8.

Figs. -6 and 7, show the application of our improved connecting device for securing" a vsnow plow f to the frame or vehicle c in lieu of the burner casing a, which with the other parts of the vegetation-.destroyer in the winter season ma be removed and the frame or vehicle c use for removing snow from the track d, in which case that portion of the bracket e having its face5 and tongue 4 in engagement with the j aw 3, is formed with an outer upright web 10 in lieu of the downwardly extending portion of the bracket e Xed to the burner casing as before described, the snow plow having suitable bracing members 1l rivete at one end to the inner face'of the plow f and at their other convergent eii'ds to the web 10 of the bracket e.

'to secure byLetters Patent is i 1. In a ve etation-destroyer ofthe character describe a connecting device for securing thepburner casings to the frame or vehicle, consisting of two parts, one partiixed to the said frame and the other part Xed to one ofthe said casings and vertically slidable laterally and transversely against the iirst tively, an upright series of bolt-holes therethrough, the holes of one part being adapted means for interlocking the parts in the registering positionoi` the said holes, and bolts passed through the said holes and tightened against the saidparts, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a vegetation-destroyer of the charac- -ter described, the means for securing the burner casings to the frame or vehicle, comprising two opposite arms projecting from the sald frame and adapted to form a jaw, a bracket fixed at its lower end to one of the said casings, a tongue projecting from the upper end of the bracket and slidable vertically within the jaw, the bracket having shoulders 'thereat adapted to bear a ainst the upright edges lof the said arms, t e said arms and tongue having an upright series of bolt-holes formed transversely therethrough respectively, adapted to register with each other, and the said shoulders having projections adapted to engage with corresponding recesses inthe said arms in the registering positions of the said holes, and bolts passed through the said registering holes, substanforth.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name to this speciiication in the presence of twosubscribin witnesses. i

CIARENCE H. HOWARD.

- Witnesses:

H. C. BELLVILLE, EDWARD W. FURRELL.

named part, the said parts having respec-Y tially as described and for the purpose set What l claim asv my invention and desire to register with the holes of the other part, 

